Friday, November 29, 2013

Arrival of the Del Prado Collection

Waiting for me at home when I got back from the office was my Christmas present! The courier company had performed wonders and had got my massive and gravitationally challenged box all the way from Whangarei(across the straight even with the Aratere out from the loss of a propeller!!) and down to Dunedin in the space of a day.

I do give myself a little credit for being a bit of a bargain spotter when it comes to auctions and I certainly wasn't disappointed by my latest purchase. The Del Prado Napoleon at War collection was 99.99% mint with only one figure missing part of a sabre. Apparently, it had belonged to a Napoleonic enthusiast in Britain who had died and bequeathed it to the seller who was not such an enthusiast but had paid for it to be shipped to NZ. It had languished in this chap's house for years until his wife gave the order for it to be sold. Luckily for me he listed it on Trademe under a category which probably wouldn't have attracted the most views so I ended up being the only bidder.

So here I am with a lighter wallet yet a very heavy box full of figures and books. I thought I would photograph all of the figures but it seems someone has already done the job for me. Also in the box there were a few figures from the Napoleonic Cavalry range (something that I had not expected) I will now be on the lookout for this collection as well - although it is 120 figures and nearly double the price of the non-mounted range. I can wait for these. Half the fun of fishing is the wait!